Boston Dynamics Makes New Atlas 'Order of Magnitude' Simpler to Build, Opening a Path to Mass-Produced Humanoids
About This Episode
In a Forbes exclusive on July 2, Boston Dynamics revealed its fifth-generation Atlas humanoid is 'almost an order of magnitude' simpler to build, with far fewer and less unique parts, making it cheaper and more reliable to manufacture. Director of Robot Behavior Alberto Rodriguez says performance is equal or better and that software, not hardware, is now the limiting factor. Parent company Hyundai plans to build at least 30,000 units a year.
Our Take
The hardest humanoid on Earth just got an order of magnitude cheaper to build, and its own engineers say the body is basically solved — so the only thing still standing between mass-produced robots and your job is software.
Continue Reading on Unscarcity
The Humanoid Robot Revolution: 50,000 Units Shipping in 2026
Directly tracks Atlas, Hyundai, and the humanoid cost curve, and argues the bottleneck has shifted from bodies to the data and software that drive them.
The Substitution Threshold: When You Stop Being the Cheapest Option
Provides the framework for what happens when a reliable robot becomes cheaper to build and run than the human doing the same physical job.